Blade sharpening system

ABSTRACT

A knife sharpening system includes a substantially planar bed defining a first plane, a support base rigidly coupled to the bed and defining a second plane lying at a selected angle with respect to the first plane, first and second end rails are rigidly coupled to respective ends of the bed and extend outward therefrom. A reference surface is provided on an end of the second end rail, defining a plane that lies parallel to the second plane. A bench stone is received on the bed, and supported thereby so that a surface of the bench stone is parallel to the bed, and lies at the selected angle, relative to the second plane. Apertures formed in the first and second end rails form a cradle configured to receive a sharpening steel, and support the sharpening steel at the selected angle, relative to the second plane.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This disclosure is directed to a stand for holding a bench stone, and inparticular, for holding a bench stone at a selected angle, greater thanzero degrees.

2. Description of the Related Art

The knife is one of the most common and widely used of all tools. Knivesare employed in many different industries and crafts, and are availablein innumerable configurations and designs. Most adults are familiar withknives, and a typical home includes several knives. Knives areespecially common in home and commercial kitchens, for use in preparingfood.

Generally, the cutting edges of “western” style knives are symmetrical,with respect to a central plane A, as described below with reference toFIGS. 2A-3B, while many traditional “Asian” style knives are beveled onone side only—an edge style referred to in Japan, for example, askataba. While the drawings and description that follow are directedprimarily to western style knives, the principles described are equallyapplicable to single-sided knives, as well. Reference to the angle of abevel is with respect to the central plane A of the blade, so, forexample, in a western style knife with an edge bevel of 20 degrees, theangle at which the sides of the blade meet at the cutting edge will be40 degrees.

FIG. 1 shows a chef knife 100 that includes a handle 102 and a blade104. The blade tapers, beginning at a primary bevel 108, to a sharpenedcutting edge 106. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the blade 104,taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1, while FIG. 2B shows an enlarged view ofa portion of the sectional view of the blade 104, indicated at 2B inFIG. 2A. Sides 105 of the blade shown are substantially parallel to acentral plane A of the blade for most of its width, then taper on eachside, at the primary bevel 108, toward the cutting edge 106. FIG. 2B,which provides a much enlarged view of the edge 106, shows a secondarybevel 110 formed on each side. Together, the secondary bevels 110provide the cutting edge 106 of the blade 104. Hereafter, the angle ofthe bevel that defines the actual cutting edge will be referred to asthe critical angle, which is shown in the drawings as angle B. Theconfiguration shown in FIG. 2B is often referred to as a compound bevel,or double-bevel edge, and is one of the most commonly used, especiallyin kitchen knives. To sharpen this edge, the blade is ground or honed toremove very small amounts of material evenly across the surface of thesecondary bevel 110, on both sides of the blade, until a desired degreeof sharpness is achieved.

The angle B of the secondary bevel 110, relative to the central plane A,is of particular importance to the proper operation of the knife 100. Amanufacturer selects the angle B on the basis of a number of factors,including the intended use of the knife 100, and the hardness, i.e.,resistance to dents or scratches, and toughness, i.e., resistance tobreaking, of the steel from which the blade is made. From the standpointof cutting efficiency, the smaller the angle B, the better. Asmall-angle blade cuts more easily and with less force than alarge-angle blade. However, as angle B is reduced, the amount of metalsupporting the edge 106 diminishes, making the edge weaker than one witha larger angle. The blade will tend to dull more quickly, and requiremore frequent sharpening. A practical limit is therefore imposed by howfrequently a typical user is willing to resharpen a blade. This limitwill vary, depending on the intended use. If the knife is to be used tocut relatively softer materials, the blade will not wear as fast, andcan therefore be made with a smaller angle.

A hard steel will hold an edge longer than a relatively softer steel,and so, a blade made from the harder steel can be sharpened to a smallerangle. However, typically, as a given steel is made harder, it alsoloses toughness, becoming progressively more brittle. Such a blade has agreater tendency to chip or break. Additionally, a blade of harder steelis usually more difficult to sharpen, so when such a knife becomes dull,it requires more time and effort to sharpen. Thus, another practicallimit is imposed by how hard a steel can be made before it becomes toobrittle for its intended use, or too difficult to sharpen. Typically,Asian style knives, whether beveled on one side or both, are ground to asmaller angle than western style knives, and are made from harder steel.This results in a more efficient cutting edge than comparable westernknives, but that are more fragile, and require more maintenance.Manufacturers typically provide what they consider the appropriate anglefor a given knife, as determined by the material of the blade, theadvertised use of the knife, and the perceived consumer expectation,with regard to maintenance and edge retention.

Given the steel formulations that have been available to manufacturersover recent decades, and referring to western knives in particular, arange of about 20-22 degrees has been commonly regarded as an optimumangle for knives made for use in food preparation, and sometimes largerangles for general and outdoor use. However, in recent years, with thedevelopment of a number of new steel formulations for blades that can behardened to a higher degree while retaining toughness, some knives areavailable for which the sharpening angle recommended by the manufactureris at 16 degrees or less. Thus, depending on the style, intended use,dimensions, and material of a given knife, the critical angle can varyfrom as small as about 10 degrees to as high as around 35 degrees, butmost are between about 15 degrees and 25 degrees.

Even though most adults regularly use knives, few actually understandsome of the most basic technical elements that influence their designand maintenance, like those briefly discussed above. Consequently, it isquite common for a person to buy an expensive knife, and aftersharpening the knife a few times, to find that it no longer cuts as wellas it did when it was new.

FIGS. 3A-3C are diagrammatic illustrations of the edge 106 showing avery common error in sharpening knives. As mentioned above, whensharpening a double-beveled edge, material is removed from the faces ofthe second bevels 110. It is important that the material be removedevenly from the entire face. This is done by positioning the blade 104so that the second bevel is flat against a sharpening stone or hone, sothat the angle B of the second bevel is not altered. However, the secondbevel 110 typically is very narrow, usually less than about 1 mm, so theuser may not be able to see or feel the correct angle on the stone.Additionally, the user may find that it is very easy to sharpen the edgeby holding the blade at a slightly larger angle. Finally, the user maybe unaccustomed to sharpening a small-angle blade, having becomeaccustomed to sharpening blades made from softer steel, at a higherangle. If, for any of these reasons, the user holds the blade at anangle that is larger than the original angle B, material will be removedfrom the blade only at the extreme edge, as shown in FIG. 3A. Byincreasing the angle a few degrees, the shaded portion 112 is removed.This is a very small amount of material, and requires only a few strokeson the stone to remove. The result, as shown in FIG. 3B, is an edge 106a on which a third bevel 114 is formed, with a new angle B₁, which islarger than the original angle B. The user may initially be quitepleased, because results are obtained very quickly, and may initially beindistinguishable from the original edge. However, over time andrepeated sharpenings, the angle B₁ can continue to increase, until theknife no longer cuts well, and no amount of sharpening seems to beeffective.

Alternatively, the user may sharpen the knife at the primary bevel angle108, which is also less then optimum because, unless a large amount ofmaterial is removed, the actual edge of the blade will not be sharpened,so the knife will remain dull, in spite of much time and effort by theuser.

The problem is that once the angle B has been changed, either increasedor decreased by even a few degrees, sharpening at the correct angle willhave no immediate effect at the cutting edge, and sharpening at the newangle B₁ will never produce an edge that cuts as well as the knife didat the original angle B. FIG. 3C shows the material, in the shaded area116, that would need to be removed from the edge 106 of FIG. 2B torestore the edge to the original angle B. Comparing FIG. 3C with FIG.3A, it can be seen that much more material, across a wider surface, mustbe removed to correct the error. This requires that the blade 104 beheld at an angle, with respect to the surface of the stone, that isequal to the correct angle B, and stroked across the stone at that anglerepeatedly until all of the material 116 is removed. While a very littleeffort is required to significantly increase the angle B, it can take agreat deal of work to restore the correct angle, provided the user evenrecognizes the problem.

There are many sharpening systems that can assist a user in sharpening aknife at a selected angle, but they are often expensive, some areimpractical, and most require specialized stones or abrasive rods thatare themselves expensive and not easily adaptable for use in otherapplications.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to an embodiment, a knife sharpening system is provided, whichincludes a substantially planar bed defining a first plane, and asupport base rigidly coupled to the bed and defining a second planelying at a selected angle with respect to the first plane. First andsecond end rails are rigidly coupled to respective ends of the bed andextend outward therefrom, and define a bed surface. A reference surfaceis provided on an end of the second end rail, defining a plane that liesparallel to the second plane. A bench stone is received on the bed, andsupported thereby so that a surface of the bench stone is parallel tothe bed, and lies at the selected angle, relative to the second plane.Apertures formed in the first and second end rails form a cradleconfigured to receive a sharpening steel, and support the sharpeningsteel at the selected angle, relative to the second plane.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a chef knife, according to known art.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the knife of FIG. 1, taken alonglines 2A-2A.

FIG. 2B is an enlarged detail of the sectional view of 2A from thelocation indicated at 2B.

FIGS. 3A-3C show diagrammatical representations of a cutting edge of aknife, according to known art.

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a knife sharpening system according to anembodiment.

FIG. 5 shows a stand of the system of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the rack of FIG. 5, taken alonglines 6-6, and also including a bench stone.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show the system of FIG. 4 in use.

FIG. 8 shows a cross section of the system of FIG. 4, taken along thesame lines as the view of FIG. 6.

FIGS. 9 and 12 show cross-sectional views of a knife sharpening systemaccording to another embodiment, taken along lines that correspond tothe lines 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIGS. 10A-10C show angled shims of the embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 12.

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatical view of a knife edge, illustrating onemethod of use of the embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 4 shows a knife sharpening system 200 according to one embodiment.The system 200 includes a stand 202, a bench stone 204, and a sharpeningsteel 206 which sits on a support 201, such as a table or kitchencabinet.

The sharpening steel 206 comprises a handle 207, a rod 208, and a guard209. According to one embodiment, the sharpening steel 206 is ageneral-purpose steel such as is commonly manufactured for use withcutlery. According to another embodiment, the sharpening steel 206 ismanufactured for use with knives of a specific type, grade of steel, ormanufacturer. In use, typically, a user holds the steel in one hand anda knife in the other, and strokes the cutting edge of the knife acrossthe rod of the sharpening steel while holding the blade at approximatelythe critical angle, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rod.This action can realign a wire edge or micro-teeth along the blade, andburnish the final bevel, to restore the cutting edge. In some cases,depending on the design of the sharpening steel, a small amount ofmaterial is removed from the blade, to restore the final bevel.

The bench stone 204 includes a first surface 232 having an abrasivewhose hardness and grit are selected to impart a desired acuity to aknife blade. According to an embodiment, the stone includes a secondside of a coarser grit, for preliminary sharpening of a knife. The benchstone 204 can be a standard size bench stone, such as is available frommany manufacturers, or can be made to a specific, non-standard size tofit the stand 202.

Referring jointly to FIGS. 4 and 5, the stand 202 comprises a base 211,a bed 210 sized to receive the bench stone 204, a cradle 224 sized toreceive the sharpening steel 206, and a reference face 218. Side rails216 extend outward from respective long sides of the bed 210, and definethereby its width, and the maximum width bench stone that can beaccommodated therein. A first end rail 213 is coupled to the base 211and includes a face 212 that extends outward from a first short side ofthe bed 210, approximately perpendicularly thereto. A second end rail215 is coupled to the base 211 and includes a face 214 that extendsoutward from a second short side of the bed 210, also approximatelyperpendicularly thereto. The faces 212, 214 of the first and second endrails 213, 215 define a length of the bed 210, and the maximum lengthbench stone that can be accommodated therein.

The cradle 224 is defined by first and second apertures 220, 222 formed,respectively, in the first and second end rails 213, 215. The first andsecond apertures 220, 222 comprise respective semi-cylindricalterminations that lie coaxial to each other, and that are sized toreceive the rod 208 of the sharpening steel 206. The reference face 218comprises a planar surface formed on the second end rail 215. In theembodiment shown, the second aperture 222 extends through the referenceface 218, dividing the face into two surfaces lying in a common plane.

Turning now to FIG. 6, a cross-sectional view of the stand 202 is shown,taken along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 5, with the bench stone 204 positionedon the bed 210. In the pictured embodiment, the base 211 comprises firstand second support faces 228, 230 that define a base plane C. The base211 supports the bed 210 at a selected angle D with respect to the baseplane C. As shown in FIG. 6, the angle D is 16 degrees. However, this ismerely provided as an example, and can be any appropriate angle, as willbe discussed later. The reference face 218 is in a plane that liesparallel to the base plane C. The terminations of the first and secondapertures 220, 222, lie on a common axis G, that itself lies parallel tothe bed 210.

A bottom face of the bench stone 204 is in face-to-face contact with thebed 210, and so lies at the same angle D, relative to the base plane C.Opposing faces of the bench stone 204 are parallel to each other, so theupper face 232 lies parallel to the bed 210, and at the same angle Dwith respect to the base plane C. When a knife blade 104 is placed withone side 105 in face-to-face contact with the reference face 218, theangle E of the central plane A of the blade, relative to the face 232 ofthe bench stone 204, is equal to the angle D.

According to one embodiment, the angle D is selected to be equal to aselected critical angle B of the edge 106 of the knife blade 104. Inoperation, the user places the knife 100 with the blade 104 restingagainst the reference face 218, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7A, therebyestablishing the correct angle of the blade with respect to the face 232of the bench stone 204. Holding the blade in that position—which isparallel to the surface on which the stand 202 is positioned—the userthen moves the knife laterally, as indicated by the arrow H, until theedge 106 contacts the face 232 of the bench stone 204, therebypositioning the blade against the stone at the selected angle B relativeto the face of the stone. The then draws the blade 104 up the slope ofthe stone in an arc, as indicated by the arrow J, so that the entirelength of the edge, from the heel 103 to the point 107, is pulled acrossthe face (shown also in phantom lines in FIG. 6). After a few strokes onone side of the blade 104, the user reverses the orientation of thestand 202, and repeats the action on the other side of the blade. Inthis way, the blade is sharpened at substantially the correct criticalangle, on both sides.

It has been found that most people are able to hold an object such as aknife at a substantially horizontal position with a relatively highdegree of accuracy and repeatability. This is especially true when areference is provided, such as the reference face 218, by which the usercan periodically confirm the proper position as being exactly horizontalwhile sharpening a blade. In contrast, it is generally very difficult toconsistently maintain an object at a specific angle that is neitherhorizontal nor vertical, through many repetitions of movement. Incontrast, if the stone 204 is positioned on a flat surface, the usermust hold the knife at the correct angle to properly sharpen the blade.If the correct angle is, for example, 22.5 degrees, the user must holdthe knife edge exactly or very nearly at 22.5 degrees for the entiresharpening stroke and also for repeated sharpening strokes. If the knifetips slightly, for example, to 25 degrees, then the angle B is changedand the problems described in the background occur, and, if the angle istoo shallow, for example, 20 degrees, the knife if not sharpened and themovement on the stone has no affect on sharpening the cutting edge. Itis very difficult for a person to hold a knife edge at exactly 22.5degrees, as compared to 20 degrees or 25 degrees. The inventors haverealized, however, that nearly all users have the skill to hold and movea knife blade at very nearly 0 degrees. This is especially true ifassisted by a reference surface 108 that is exactly horizontal, at 0degrees. A person can more easily move the knife exactly horizontal towithin, e.g., 0.5 degrees of tolerance as compared to moving the knifeat exactly 22.5 degrees within the same 0.5 degrees of tolerance.

Referring again to FIG. 6, the total surface area of the support faces228, 230 of the base 211 that contact the support 201 is selected tolimit the amount of force that can be applied by the user whilesharpening the blade.

It is sometimes desirable to limit the force that the user will applywhen sharpening a knife because there can be a tendency to change theangle of the blade against the stone when one is pressing down withexcessive force. This can result in the user inadvertently changing thecritical angle of the blade.

When the stand 202 is positioned on support 201, such as a table orcounter top, the amount of static friction that is generated between thebase 211 and the underlying support 201 is a function of the mass of thedevice, and the vector and degree of force applied, as well as thecoefficient of friction between the base 211 and the upper face ofsupport 201. When the static friction is overcome, the stand 204 willbegin to slide across the surface of support 201. Thus, the user iscompelled to limit the force applied to avoid exceeding the staticfriction so that the stand remains stationary.

In operation, the user first places the knife edge against the face 232of the bench stone 204, using the reference face 218 to establish theangle, then applies a force against the blade in a forward and slightlydownward direction to slide the knife along the stone. The force of theblade against the angled surface 232 of the stone creates a vector offorce in the downward direction, pressing the base 211 with more forceinto the underlying support 201. The downward force effectivelyincreases the apparent mass of the stand on the underlying surface, aswell as of the knife against the stone. The coefficient of frictionbetween the blade and the stone is higher than that between the base ofthe stand and the underlying surface, so as the user increases thedownward force, friction between the blade and stone increases fasterthan between the base and the underlying surface. Thus, the user mustfind a balance between the forces that will permit the blade to slide onthe stone and be sharpened, while the stand remains stationary and doesnot move with respect to support 201. If the user applies too muchdownward force, static friction between the blade and the stone willrise beyond that between the stand and the surface, so that the frictionat the base 202 with the support 201 is overcome first, and the baseslides. A larger surface area of the base will produce a greaterincrease of friction as downward force increases, meaning that greaterdownward force can be applied without overcoming the friction at thebase. Thus, by selecting the surface area of the base 211, and thematerial of the base, the maximum force a user is permitted to applywhen sharpening the knife can be selected, at least to an approximateamount. Of course, the actual maximum value will also depend on thematerial and texture of the underlying surface 201, which will vary. Ona hard, smooth surface, such as ceramic tile, the maximum force will berelatively smaller, while on an unfinished wood bench top, it will berelatively greater, but even at these extremes, the difference is notgreat, and the maximum value can be approximated to a sufficient degree.

Turning now to FIG. 8, the view is the same as that of FIG. 6, exceptthat the sharpening steel 206 is also shown, positioned in the cradle224. It can be seen that the steel 206 is held at the same angle as thesurface 232 of the bench stone 204, so that, with the blade 104 in ahorizontal position, as shown, the central angle A of the blade is equalto the angle D established by the base 211. Thus, the user can moreaccurately control the angle while stroking the blade across the steel,enabling the user to more quickly and effectively bring the edge 106 toa desired degree of acuity.

The sharpening system 200 of the embodiment of FIGS. 4-8 provides anumber of benefits. Unlike many prior art systems, which employ abrasiverods or stones that are customized for the specific system, and that areoften quite expensive, the present system employs a bench stone. Benchstones are commonly available in a wide range of sizes andconfigurations, and can be used for many different tasks. Even where thebench stone is provided by a manufacturer for a specific line of knives,it is still able to be used for other purposes and tasks.

In the embodiment disclosed with reference to FIGS. 4-8, it can be seenthat the angle D is fixed by the stand. This is of particular benefitwhere a manufacturer produces a line of knives for which the materialand design are selected for a specific critical angle. As previouslynoted, some manufacturers produce knives whose critical angle issubstantially smaller than the angles used on traditional knives made byother makers and owned by many users. Thus, a user who is accustomed toa 22 degree edge might buy a knife made with a harder steel and providedwith an edge at 16 degrees. It has not been uncommon for a consumer topurchase a knife and to ruin the cutting edge by inadvertentlysharpening the blade at too large an angle.

According to an embodiment, a manufacturer provides a sharpening systemwith the angle D set to the specific critical angle of particular set ofknives. This can be indicated by an indicia, writing or marking on thebed 210 that clearly states the angle D to which the bed is set, thetype knife, or even the brand and style of knife to be sharpened on thatparticular stand. In this embodiment, an angle D is set by the maker ofthe stand 202 for a particular set of knives, with both often made ordistributed by the same company.

Additionally, according to an embodiment, the material and grade of thestone 204 are selected according to the material of the knives to besharpened. For example, where a knife is made from a particularly hardsteel, some commercially available bench stones may be too soft toeffectively sharpen the knife. In other cases, a knife intended for aparticular purpose might require a particularly fine edge, so that astone of a commonly available grade would be too coarse to properlysharpen the knife. In such cases, the knife manufacturer provides asharpening system that includes a stone with a material and grade thatare selected to provide the desired edge on the knife.

According to an embodiment, the dimensions of the bed 210 are selectedto be incompatible with most commercially available bench stones, i.e.,slightly shorter or narrower than typical stones of about the same sizerange. Of course, the bench stone 204 provided by the manufacturer,which is designed and formulated to meet the requirements of the knivesfor which it was intended, is sized to properly fit the bed 210. Thus, auser is encouraged to obtain replacement stones from the manufacturer orother authorized sources, and discouraged from replacing the stone 204with another commercially available stone, which might be incapable ofsharpening the knives for which it was designed, or, worse, might damagethem. As noted above, even if the bench stone 204 is specificallydesigned for optimal performance with a particular line of knives, itwill still remain widely useful for many unrelated tasks in a shop orkitchen.

FIG. 9 shows a sharpening system according to another embodiment. A shim240 is provided, positioned on the bed 210, and the bench stone 204 ispositioned on the shim. The shim 240 is wedge-shaped, having top andbottom surfaces that lie at an angle with respect to each other. In theexample shown, the surfaces of the shim 240 have an angle of 3 degrees,with respect to each other. Thus, the angle M of the bench stone 204relative to the base plane C is equal to the sum of the angle D and theangle of the shim 240. This permits a user to sharpen a knife that has acritical angle other than the angle D of the sharpening system. Forexample, the stand 202 may have an angle D of 16 degrees, for sharpeningknives of a particular type or from a particular manufacturer, but theuser may also have knives that perform better with a larger criticalangle. By selecting a shim of the appropriate angle, the user cansharpen knives at any angle necessary.

Turning to FIG. 10A, the shim 240 is shown together with another shim242. The shim 242 has an angle of 2 degrees, which permits a user tochange the sharpening angle by that amount. By using the shims 240, 242in combination, several angles can be achieved. FIG. 10B shows the shims240, 242 in a position that modifies the angle of the stand by the sumof the angles of shims, i.e., 5 degrees, while FIG. 100 shows the shimsin a position that modifies the angle of the stand by the difference ofthe angles, i.e., 1 degree. Thus, by using one or the other or bothshims, modifying angles of 1, 2, 3, and 5 degrees can be achieved. Thevalues are merely exemplary, and any number of shims, at any desiredangles, can be used. According to an embodiment, the shims are made of anon-skid material, such as a relatively hard rubber. This will tend toprevent the bench stone from slipping from the stand while in use,inasmuch as the use of a shim can lift the stone above the level of theside rails, which would otherwise prevent excessive movement of thestone. In one embodiment, the shim has indicia thereon, such as thechange in degree or the type of knife it is to be used with that willindicate the proper use of that particular shim with the basic stand202.

As noted with respect to FIGS. 3A-3C, it is relatively easy toaccidentally apply too large an angle to the cutting edge of a knife,but once done can be very difficult to correct. The edge geometry thatproduces this result is sometimes exploited beneficially to create whatis often referred to as a back bevel. Turning to FIG. 11, it is assumed,as an example, that the blade shown is to be sharpened to a criticalangle B of 16 degrees. The primary bevel 108 provides the initial taperfrom the sides of the blade to near the edge, and is usually at a verysmall angle, such as 10 degrees. In this case, the secondary bevel 110 bis ground to an angle that is smaller than the critical angle B, formingthe back bevel. A tertiary, or third bevel 114 a is then ground to thecritical angle B across a very small width. Bearing in mind that thesecondary bevel 110 b can be narrower than one millimeter, the thirdbevel 114 a is very narrow, and may be visible only under magnification.It is only necessary to remove material from the surface of the thirdbevel 114 a to sharpen the blade, which, as explained with reference toFIGS. 3A and 3C, is much easier than removing material from across theentire secondary bevel 110. Thus, there are instances in which thecritical angle is 16 degrees or 22.5 degrees, but it is desired to forma back bevel at a lower angle, such as 13.5 degrees or 20 degrees,respectively.

FIG. 12 shows the stand 202 with the shim 240 positioned so that theangle S of the bench stone 204 relative to the base plane C is equal tothe difference of the angle D and the shim 240. The angle S is now lowerthan D by an amount appropriate for a back bevel, such as, e.g., 2.5degrees. This places the bench stone in a position appropriate toforming a back bevel on a blade, after which the shim 240 is removed,for formation of the cutting bevel at the critical angle.

According to an alternate embodiment, blind apertures are provided onthe surface 210 of the bed, at each end. When it is necessary to changethe sharpening angle, pegs of the appropriate length are placed in theapertures at one end of the bed, to raise that end of the stone adesired distance. This is one acceptable way to change the angle insteadof using a shim. There are other ways that the sharpening angle can bechanged besides pegs and shims, for example, steps or ledges may beprovided in the end walls or other structure provided that will permit auser to easily modify the angle D as needed for a particular sharpeningneed.

In describing the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, directionalreferences, such as right, left, top, bottom, etc., are used to refer toelements or movements as they are appear in the figures. Such terms areused to simplify the description and are not to be construed as limitingthe claims in any way.

The term sharp, and related terms, do not refer to the critical angle ofa cutting edge, but instead to the degree to which the final bevels ofboth sides of the blade meet at a straight and smooth line. Likewise, ablade is not made dull by changing the critical angle of the blade, butby rounding or deforming the edge. To resharpen the blade, material fromthe sides is removed until the rounded edge is eliminated and the edgesmeet at a straight lines from their respective beveled edges.

Ordinal numbers are used in the specification and claims to distinguishbetween elements so referenced. There is no necessary significance tothe value of a number assigned to one element with respect to othernumbered elements. Furthermore, an ordinal number used to refer to anelement in the claims does not necessarily correlate to a number used torefer to an element in the specification on which the claim reads.

Where a claim limitation recites a structure as an object of thelimitation, that structure itself is not an element of the claim, but isa modifier of the subject. For example, in a limitation that recites “aplurality of probe pins configured to make contact with respectiveterminals of a wafer of semiconductor material,” the wafer is not anelement of the claim, but instead serves to define the scope of the termprobe pins. Additionally, subsequent limitations or claims that reciteor characterize additional elements relative to the wafer do not renderthe wafer an element of the claim.

The abstract of the present disclosure is provided as a brief outline ofsome of the principles of the invention according to one embodiment, andis not intended as a complete or definitive description of anyembodiment thereof, nor should it be relied upon to define terms used inthe specification or claims. The abstract does not limit the scope ofthe claims.

Elements of the various embodiments described above can be combined, andfurther modifications can be made, to provide further embodimentswithout deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. All of theU.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patentapplications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications andnon-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listedin the Application Data Sheet, are incorporated herein by reference, intheir entirety. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessaryto employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publicationsto provide yet further embodiments.

These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of theabove-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, theterms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specificembodiments disclosed in the specification, but should be construed toinclude all possible embodiments along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claimsare not limited by the disclosure.

1. A knife sharpening system, comprising: a substantially planar bedhaving a first surface and first and second ends, the first surfacedefining a first plane; a support base rigidly coupled to the bed anddefining a second plane lying at a selected angle, greater than zero,with respect to the first plane defined by the first surface of bed; afirst end rail having first and second ends, the first end rail beingrigidly coupled to the first end of the bed and extending outward fromthe bed, the first end having at least a part of the support basepositioned thereat; and a second end rail rigidly coupled to the secondend of the bed and extending outward from the first end of the bed; thefirst and second end rails defining first and second ends of the bed. 2.The system of claim 1, comprising first and second side rails, coupledto respective sides of the first surface of the bed and extendingoutward therefrom and defining, between them, a width of the bed of thefirst surface.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the first andsecond end rails includes an aperture extending through the respectiveend rail along a common axis lying parallel to, and a selected distancefrom, the first surface.
 4. The system of claim 1, comprising areference surface on the second end of the first end rail, the referencesurface lying substantially parallel to the first plane.
 5. The systemof claim 1 wherein the first leg and the first end rail are elements ofa common element coupled to the first end of the bed plate.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein the selected angle is between 10 and 25degrees.
 7. The system of claim 1 wherein the selected angle is between15 and 20 degrees.
 8. The system of claim 1 wherein the selected angleis 16 degrees.
 9. The system of claim 1 wherein a length of the bed,between the first and second end rails, is greater than 6 inches andless than 14 inches.
 10. The system of claim 1 wherein a length of thebed, between the first and second end rails, is greater than 6 inchesand less than 14 inches.
 11. The system of claim 1 wherein a length ofthe bed, between the first and second end rails, is greater than 6inches and less than 14 inches.
 12. The system of claim 1 wherein alength of the bed, between the first and second end rails, is greaterthan 8 inches and less than 9 inches.
 13. The system of claim 1 whereina length of the bed, between the first and second end rails, is betweenabout 7¼ inches and about 7¾ inches.
 14. The system of claim 1,comprising a shim plate sized to be removably received between the firstand second end rails, and having first and second substantially planaropposing surfaces defining respective planes that lie, with respect toeach other, at an angle of greater than about one degree and less thanabout five degrees.
 15. The system of claim 1, comprising a shim platesized to be removably received between the first and second end rails,and having first and second substantially planar opposing surfacesdefining respective planes that lie, with respect to each other, at anangle of about two degrees.
 16. The system of claim 1, comprising a shimplate sized to be removably received between the first and second endrails, and having first and second substantially planar opposingsurfaces defining respective planes that lie, with respect to eachother, at an angle of about three degrees.
 17. The system of claim 1,comprising: a first shim plate sized to be removably received betweenthe first and second end rails, and having first and secondsubstantially planar opposing surfaces defining respective planes thatlie, with respect to each other, at an angle of about two degrees; and asecond shim plate sized to be removably received between the first andsecond end rails, and having first and second substantially planaropposing surfaces defining respective planes that lie, with respect toeach other, at an angle of about three degrees.
 18. A system forsharpening knives, comprising: a stand having: a base defining a firstplane and configured to support the stand on a planar surface so thatthe first plane is coplanar with the planar surface, a bed defining asecond plane lying at an angle with respect to a the first plane, sizedto receive a bench stone thereon, and a reference surface positioned atan end of the bed, lying parallel to and spaced away from the firstplane.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the stand comprises a cradledefining an axis that lies parallel to and spaced away from the secondplane.
 20. The system of claim 18, comprising a bench stone sized to bereceived by the bed of the stand.